Wahine volleyball looking for the missing piece

The chess game continues.

Of all the pieces on the board, it is the queen that is the most versatile, able to move in any direction at any given time.

For No. 17 Hawaii, that player is senior Annie Mitchem, who has been used at both middle blocker and outside hitter, sometimes switching within a match. It happened Friday against UC Irvine — she played middle for three sets and outside for Set 3, coincidentally the latter the only set the Rainbow Wahine dropped.

Mitchem doesn’t care where she plays. She’s been fairly efficient (.293) and fairly proficient (2.47 kills per set) since returning from injury nine matches ago.

“I like both,” said Mitchem, a two-time All-America middle at Irvine Valley (Calif.) College. “I like playing middle, but when I’m outside I get to pass and I like that.”

The question is where to use her.

“We just have to find our best lineup,” Hawaii coach Dave Shoji said. “It’s not an easy task right now. We’re not satisfied going with one lineup, always trying to find something better.

“It’s not a perfect situation (for Mitchem), but she’s got the right personality to bounce back and forth. She’s not worried about where she plays as long as she plays.”

The bottom line is getting production from that second outside spot, a revolving door that has included Mitchem, freshman Kirsten Sibley, sophomore Casey Castillo and junior Kalei Greeley. (There likely will be one fewer option today with Castillo hampered by a leg problem).

Greeley had owned the position for much of the past two seasons. But her shoulder rehabilitation has not progressed as quickly as expected following surgery last spring, limiting her to back-row defensive duties.

Greeley briefly played in the front row Friday, with her one kill in Set 4 giving her 492 for her career. She also had a team-high 10 digs.

Shoji is firm in his choice of sophomore McKenna Granato as the other left-side hitter, saying, “We get an honest swing out of her on every attempt.”

“Yes, she’s undersized (listed at 6 feet). Yes, she’s doesn’t have a great vertical. But right now she’s still our best option.”

On Friday, Granato played her way out of hitting negative with no kills in Set 1, finishing with nine kills and hitting .147. She also had three aces against the Anteaters, giving up one ace on serve-receive.

Granato’s inconsistency in that area has led to her being replaced by a defensive specialist after serving. That has been another audition with juniors Clare-Marie Anderson and Gianna Guinasso, senior Katiana Ponce and freshman Emma Smith getting looks.

“We’re looking for the best passer,” Shoji said. “Everyone brings a little bit to the team, but no one is giving us a combination of passing, defense and serving.”

There also is the concern about closing out when holding a lead at the end of a set. It happened early in the season, most notably against UCLA and Washington; it has happened as of late, in the past two matches against Long Beach State and UC Irvine.

“I think we were playing too tight (Friday),” Mitchem said. “We wanted to get it done in three and got a little flustered.

“And we didn’t cover (the tip shots) that well. We were scrambling and we need to do a better job at staying organized.”

Shoji is eight wins shy of 1,200. He goes for No. 1,193 today against UC Davis. This is the fourth straight road match for the Aggies, who haven’t played since their 3-1 victory at Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 8.

UC Davis features the reigning Big West freshman of the week in outside hitter Lauren Matias, who had 34 kills against the Titans. Junior middle Alma Eichie also had an impressive outing against Fullerton, with 17 kills and no errors in 24 swings, and sophomore libero Malia Bolko had a career-high 31 digs.

“There very much like Irvine, a balanced kind of team with good middles and outsides,” Shoji said.

Aggies coach Dan Conners was equally concerned with Hawaii’s balance.

“We’re definitely going to be challenged,” he said. “They have scorers at the pins, and Nikki Taylor, (a second-team All-American) last year, is playing the game better, better defense and attacking smarter. She’s a great player and we’ll have to have a good plan against her.

“We’ll have to do a good job serving to get them off the net. I think we can play a lot better defense to have a better defensive mentality. We have to have that grind-it-out mentality where nothing hits the ground and, offensively, we have to stay aggressive and look for opportunities to score.”

Note

Taylor, a senior opposite, ranks No. 13 on the all-time career kill list with 1,250. She is 17 shy of passing Diana Jessie (1984-87) for No. 12.